And I stand at the end of this nameless void. I stood in front of the source of the glowing white light. Words cannot describe how massive and immensely powerful this source truly was. It could be [in my opinion] at least, a billion times bigger and brighter than our sun.
I stood outside the entrance of the atrium and I see a huge beam of bright blue light going upwards. Whatever is inside that place is the origin of the light.
It's really funny. Despite being taller than 6 feet, just the entrance of the atrium makes me look like a red ant staring up to a huge tower.
"This is truly amazing. This is it. This is the end of my journey."
My face formed a slight smile, I couldn't help it. After everything that me and the Anomaly went through, we finally made it. How long did it take us? I don't know. Time doesn't flow the same way here as it does in my world.
The Anomaly stood behind me, and it stared at the back of my red coat. Strangely, they were not as chatty or annoying as they were during most of our travels together.
Part of me wonders what they were thinking. After all, this was where our paths diverged. I will return to my world and they… Wait, what as their goal in reaching this place again?
"So tell me…What will you do when you get back?" The Anomaly asked.
I do not know how to answer Anomaly's questions. I myself don't even have the answer. What will I do? I wonder.
Will I go back to expanding my Empire? Will I usurp the throne and become the Supreme Leader? Do I even want to do that?
I am capable of many things. I could do good or I could do bad? But neither of those options seem appealing to me. Heh, something must be wrong with me. I guess staying in this place for so long made me sentimental.
But then, the Anomaly asked me another question. One that I wish they hadn't.
"Will you go back to her? Will you get your revenge?
She's speaking of her, the liar who killed me. Except, after many years of reflection made me realize something. It made me question if I was the one who betrayed her instead of the other way around.
I turned around and our eyes met. Both of us expected the other to speak first but neither of us did. So I decided to answer their question.
"I don't know what I will do."
The Anomaly expressions remained the same as usual. I honestly don't know what they were thinking. In fact, I never understood them. Then she asked me the same question again.
"Will you get your revenge on her? What will you do when you get back?"
I looked away and lowered my head. The truth of what at some point I wanted was far more simple. Part of me knew I deserved death and oblivion for all the things I've done. But there was a feeling that I had suppressed for many years, even when I was alive in my world.
Our gaze meets again and I look at her with an expression and a determination that they haven't seen before. They looked at me, really looked at me, and even without me saying it, I could see their disappointment in their eyes. Even so, I declared what I truly wanted.
"You asked me what I wanted. What I want is redemption. Yes, that is what I want. I'll return to my world and I will apologize to her and I will make up for all the terrible things that I've done."
I don't know if the Anomaly was dumbfounded or if they were thinking their words carefully.
"Is that really what you want? Remember what you told me? Your legacy is one of death. Of Destruction. I wonder, how did your enemies look at you when you took their lives? Did they fear you? Or did they hate you?"
She's right, my legacy is indeed of destruction and death. I lower my gaze away from her.
I've been called many names. I've been known by many titles. And I've been called many things. For a long time, the citizens of the former Allyerean Democratic Republic knew me as a crimson knight. A hero. But to the Crimson Reign that succeeded it, I was their fist and sword. My enemies knew me as a bringer of Death. I am a murder and I am a monster.
"What was it again that your enemies called you? Ah, yes. The Red Death. You embraced that name, you made it your identity. That is who you are. And that is okay! You think it will be that simple? That saying sorry will make the widows and the orphans forgive you?"
The Anomaly is right. There is no way to atone and be forgiven by all the things I've done. But still I…
"So now that you know what you are. Tell me, what will you do when you get back?"
For many years I believed that I couldn't change. After all, I couldn't take back the choices I made. I believed I was bound to them, and the aftermath of those choices. I embraced the name of the Red Death, and I had accepted my role as a killer. At least, that is what I wanted to believe. For me, it was easier to believe that I had always been the monster known as the Red Death; The killer that kills with no reason. Than to accept that I had allowed myself to become that monster.
Even as I look at the entrance of the atrium, her image does not escape my head. What an annoying woman she was. Even at a moment like this, all I can think of is her blonde hair. We were friends once and she had always believed in me. Could it be that I was the one that betrayed her, instead of the other way around?
Yes, I know what I must do. I turned around, my back facing the anomaly. There is no road of retreat, I know what I must do now.
"I will go back. I will go back to her. I know this is not the response that you wanted to hear but it is my choice."
That's right, It is my choice. For so long I had walked a path that I did not believe in. For so long I had hidden my name and face from the world and I embraced an identity that wasn't me.
I cannot see Anomaly's face but I am sure that they are not happy. Seriously, what's with them? They have never talked to me this way.
"This is your choice? You will regret it." The Anomaly said.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe I will regret it. I am sorry if this is not the answer you wanted to hear from me. But I am thankful for taking me here."
I began to enter the entrance of the Atrium but then my world started to spin and my view had turned upside down. What just happened? It's as if time had slowed down.
My head then falls to the ground and it begins to roll. I do not know what happened to me until I hear the thud of my body that just fell. My head had been severed.
The Anomaly and I make eye contact, and I see their green and white eyes look deep inside me.
"You have failed me."
The Anomaly spoke with contempt and hate in their voice but that is not what I am focused on. I am not even focused on the fact that my life is about to end. No, I am thinking of something that was far more important to me, something I had forgotten until recently.
He saw a familiar view for an instance. Why now? And why had he forgotten it? Only one thing came to his mind and it was the face and features of the blonde woman that had killed him. He finally realized how beautiful his former friend was and how precious she was to him. He felt regret for what had happened, and he regretted that there was nothing that he could do at that moment.
At that moment, the Red Death died.